Alexandria Juffre Conducts Research Internship on Cancer at Tufts University in Boston, MA (May-July, 2019) Blog 2

Posted on September 6, 2019 by admin

Blog 2: Research

My arrival at the lab was at the very start of a new mice model experiment the doctor and his post-doctoral researchers were beginning. Each of these experiments at this lab last a total of 26 weeks, so my time at the lab of 10 weeks was not sufficient to help them with that experiment in particular. Instead, in the lab, I was doing additional research to help back up their findings in their previous mice study which was researching the impact of a particular gut bacteria on the presence and progression of colorectal cancer. The first three weeks I was there, the post-doc researcher, Gar Yee, helped teach me the lab protocol, but she moved to work at the University of Florida on the fourth week and I learned independently from then on.

My lab space I worked in while in Boston. The grey incubator on the left housed my cells and the fridge on the right housed reagents and solutions needed for experiments.

During my time, I gained experience independently in cell culture assays, growing and splitting colorectal cancer cells and hTLR-4 cells, along with PCR analysis, ELISA assays, Caspase-3 assays, TLR-4 activation assays, as well as assisting with Western Blot analysis, immunohistochemistry, and TGF-beta activation assays. Additionally, my analysis of TLR-4 activation led to a partnership in which I analyzed samples from a lab at Northeastern University to help identify the effects of certain bacteria on cell lines. My time at the USDA HRNCA was also supplemented with visits to 2 conferences and multiple speakers to heard about advancements in nutritional and cancer research, as well as to see my boss present on his findings at our lab. The experiments I learned and knowledge I gained during this experience was an excellent addition to my curriculum at Rollins and will aid my future lab work in Biology and Biochemistry practices.

Alexandria Juffre Conducts Research Internship on Cancer at Tufts University in Boston, MA (May-July, 2019) Blog 1

Posted on September 6, 2019 by admin

Blog 1: Commuting

My time spent in Boston this summer began with a long road trip from Apopka to Danvers, Massachusetts. I was going to be staying in Boston for two months, so my Dad and I thought it would be important to have my car with me to get around. There, I lived with my grandparents to conserve money I would have been using to rent an apartment. My internship itself was downtown near Chinatown, next door to Tufts Medical Center. To get there each morning, I drove to the local train station in Salem, took a 35-minute train to North Station (TD Garden in Boston), and took the orange line on the subway to get to the laboratory. I really enjoyed my commute, but it wasn’t very affordable. However, it was more affordable than driving each day.

My sterile hood which I worked under during my experiments. This was during one of my TLR-4 activation analyses with over 80 samples I had to load into a 96 well plate.

In July, the MBTA (transportation in and around Boston) increased the prices of my tickets by $20, and I decided I did not want to use the commuter rail anymore. Instead, I now drove about 35 minutes each morning to the nearest subway stop in Oak Grove and took the orange line to work. My boss at the laboratory decided that he wanted me to stay a few extra days for my research and I ended up working until July 26^th. That day, I had my boyfriend fly up to Boston to accompany me on my road trip home. After 6 days on the road and some nice stops on the way back, we’ve finally made it back to Orlando, and just in time for RLE training!

Issac Gorres Conducts Research at the Venice Biennale Library in Italy (June 12-19, 2019) Blog 2

Posted on September 6, 2019 by admin

Besides visiting the official exhibition venues of the Venice Biennale, I also attended numerous affiliated events and exhibitions in Venice. One of these—Authentic Human Bodies: Leonardo da Vinci—exhibited actual human corpses preserved through the process of plastination and arranged after selected anatomical drawings of Leonardo da Vinci. Controversial and somewhat disturbing, this exhibition was definitely unforgettable.

Other things that I participated in included tours of historic churches in Venice and a visit to the offices of Save Venice, a nonprofit organization that hires professional conservators and restoration staff in order to halt and reverse degradation to the cultural treasures of Venice. Separately, I visited Teatro la Fenice, an opera house in Venice, where Save Venice had worked on the ceiling molding after the building fell victim to arson in 1996. Although Save Venice works primarily in the realm of historic preservation, and I am interested in the preservation of contemporary art, it was still extremely interesting for me to visit the Save Venice offices and see an example of the work they have accomplished firsthand.

The experience of visiting the Biennale, in addition to assisting with my Student-Faculty Collaborative Scholarship project, provided me with numerous opportunities to view breaking contemporary artists from across the globe. Additionally, this experience introduced me to the network of professional conservators at Save Venice, something that I am extremely thankful for.

Issac Gorres Conducts Research at the Venice Biennale Library in Italy (June 12-19, 2019) Blog 1

Posted on September 6, 2019 by admin

Over the summer, I traveled to Venice, Italy, where I attended the Venice Biennale—a global contemporary arts collective that meets once every two years—as a part of my Student-Faculty Collaborative Research project with Dr. Susan Libby in the Department of Art and Art History. Our project probes the Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art in an effort to use these contemporary art objects as case studies illustrating the multiple issues that arise in the preservation of contemporary cultural heritage. Thus, visiting the Venice Biennale, with its numerous contemporary artists employing a wide variety of media, greatly assisted me in understanding issues of collection care for contemporary art collections.

While I was in Venice, I visited the two exhibition venues of the Biennale—the Giardini and the Arsenale—and attended the curated exhibitions there. The theme of the curated exhibitions this year, May You Live In Interesting Times, dealt with the concept of holding two seemingly dichotomous ideas in the mind simultaneously. Perhaps the most jarring artwork was Christian Marclay’s 48 War Movies (2019), where 48 video files were projected in overlapping, concentric boxes with volume blaring. Due to the violent nature of the movies, the sound was a deafening mix of explosions and gunshots. The didactic for the installation stated that because the video files are each a different length, and because they are all looped continuously, the artwork can essentially broadcast forever without repeating.

Additionally, at each venue, numerous participating countries host pavilions where they display contemporary art by their own artists. Visiting each of these pavilions helped me become more familiar with the big names of international contemporary art scene, something that will surely be valuable as I pursue a career in contemporary art conservation.

Cassidy Rodriguez Participates in Bonner Summer of Service Project in India (May-July 2019) Blog 2

Posted on September 6, 2019 by admin

Blog 2: July 14^th

India is an interesting country. Delhi is extremely polluted and scorching hot. Some days the temperature can reach 110F! There’s pollution everywhere and the sky is grey. One thing that really impressed me about India is how they are still a developing nation but working so hard to turn things around. This summer they planted 22 million trees in Delhi. Stores do not offer plastic bags, only cotton ones. All take away is in recycled bags. India is still the most polluted place in the world, with Faridabad the place I’m staying, being the second most polluted place. One of the biggest issues holding India down from really progressing is the fact only 10% of their population pays taxes. Unfortunately, the majority of the population faces extreme poverty, living on less than 100rs a day. India is still lacking in many things. They don’t have any form of birth control leaving many people to not have sex until they’re 25. Unmarried women cannot receive a pregnancy test even if the doctor knows they could be pregnant. Hepatitis B is a huge issue in India due to lack of accessible healthcare and little to no symptoms from Hep B. In rural areas men tend to use the bathroom on the side of the road, yet women are forbidden from doing this.

Dharmshala, India

Women are generally respected just as much as men. Contrary to what I read online before coming they are allowed to be out at night freely. Rural women tent to wear saris and traditional Indian clothes while modern women wear western clothes. On subways women are given a separate area near the front of the area that men are not allowed to enter. They can sit anywhere else in the train, but the first cab is theirs to choose if they want.

Taj Mahal, Agra, India

Cassidy Rodriguez Participates in Bonner Summer of Service Project in India (May-July 2019) Blog 1

Posted on September 6, 2019 by admin

Blog 1: June 8^th

I’ve been in India for four weeks and am amazed by the people. Currently I’m volunteering in the slum clinics and orphanages. The medical slums provide free medical advice, first aid, and over the counter medications to those who cannot afford it otherwise. I personally work to measure blood pressure and blood sugar for those who come in. Many of the individuals who come in either have cuts from poor walking conditions or riding motorcycles, have Delhi Belly, or dehydration. A huge issue in India is much of their food is only carbs. There is very little vegetables or fruit in the India diet which has caused further health issues in the long run. Many individuals experience kidney stones and heart issues because of their diet. In the orphanages we get to play games with the children. I love the orphanages because I get to make up new games to play with them every day. I know when I get home, I want to try to mail more board games for them. The children are so sweet and incredibly tough. They tend to hit each other a lot and play football (soccer) very rough.

Alongside working in the medical camps, I get to attend surgeries. One case that really broke my heart was 23-year-old women who was hit by a motorcycle and broke every bone in her left hand. When we arrived, she was screaming for her mom who was nowhere around. The doctors had to amputate her hand because the bones were basically gone. This tends to be a common issue in India because of the amount of people in cars/ bikes and the poor roadway systems. I wish there was more I could do.

The Medical Slums

Emily Curran Participates in Bali Turtle Conservation and Teaching Project in Indonesia (May 13-June 30, 2019) Blog 2

Posted on September 6, 2019 by admin

My final three weeks of my volunteer trip were spent on Nusa Penida, a smaller Indonesian island off of mainland Bali. Nusa Penida is less developed with far fewer tourists than Bali. My volunteer work on Nusa Penida consisted of turtle conservation and environmental activism. Sea turtles are an endangered species. Sea turtles, along with marine life in general has been greatly affected by global climate change. With the rising temperatures and increase of plastic in the ocean, the ecosystems of these marine animals has been altered significantly. Furthermore, locals in Bali used to eat turtles so the sea turtle population around the island is much smaller compared to the rest of the world.

To combat these growing issues, Green Lion Bali, the organization I was working with, opened a turtle sanctuary where turtles can have a safe place to grow to be big enough to have a high chance of surviving in the ocean upon release. Now that the sanctuary has been long established on the island, local fishermen will bring turtle eggs to Green Lion where they will safely hatch on site. Each day I, along with the other volunteers, would clean the tanks, feed the turtles, and clean the turtles to ensure that continued their growth in a happy and healthy way. We would record their movements and take measurements to track their progress as well.

When I was not working with the turtles, I cleaned the beaches, made signs encouraging environmentally conscious behaviors, and worked to improve the waste management system on the island. On my final day on the island, I got lucky enough to be a part of a turtle release. A Balinese ceremony was performed to bless the turtle and wish it a safe journey in the water. This was by far the highlight of my trip as it was so exciting to see the work I did each day come to fruition.

Emily Curran Participates in Bali Turtle Conservation and Teaching Project in Indonesia (May 13-June 30, 2019) Blog 1

Posted on September 6, 2019 by admin

Selamat siang (good day)! This summer I spent seven weeks in Bali, Indonesia volunteering. For the first month I volunteered in a small village twenty minutes outside of Ubud teaching kindergarten and third grade.

My mornings were spent with the kindergartners exposing them to basic english. We played games, colored, and danced. There were thirty-five children to a classroom with three Indonesian teachers. Although the class structure reminded me somewhat of my own schooling as a child with morning meeting, workbooks, and craft projects, the way the classroom was conducted was very different. The children were given a lot of freedom and would come in and out of the classroom as they pleased. Bali is predominantly Hindu so a group prayer, led by a boy in the classroom, happened before snack time each day.

In the afternoon, I taught english to a class of fifteen third graders. This was different from my experience with kindergarten because there was no teacher in the classroom with my partner and I. Every day we would spend a couple hours planning activities and games for the kids to creatively expose them to english. We covered topics like transportation, the five senses, adjectives, nouns, verbs, and weather. Although I knew that the kids were improving their english, I struggled coming to volunteer each day knowing that I was only giving them the language skills to eventually be a better help to the privileged tourists, not financially independent.

Below you will find a picture of me and a few other volunteers with my third grade class. If you look closely, you can see the lei that they made me as a goodbye gift.

Kenzie Helmick Attends the Biennial Conference of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research in Colorado Springs, CO (June 6-8, 2019) Blog 2

Posted on September 6, 2019 by admin

Having just attended my first Society for Menstrual Cycle Research biennial conference through support from the SHIP grant, I leave with a deeper appreciation for communities and support networks within academic fields, especially one as messy, trivialized, and delegitimized as menstruation. This conference was the first time I have ever been exposed to such a large group of individuals – over 100 people – who all shared the same “odd” interest as me. For nearly three full days, I was surrounded by academics – many of whom I have read and deeply admire – who were all as equally as passionate about menstruation as I was, and who understood the importance of studying an oftentimes forgotten or stigmatized topic. During my time at the conference, I never had to preface my work with an explanation of how I got introduced to the topic or why I would even want to study periods in the first place. Instead, my work – along with the work of all the other researchers and presenters – was respected and valued for the academic merit it holds. Moreover, as a truly feminist gathering and organization, I never experienced the elitist or exclusionary atmosphere that academia can sometimes exude.

The best example of the sense of community, solidarity, and support present throughout the conference was the final, closing ceremony: a “Red Moon Howl” poetry slam and open mic, where individuals were invited to share either a personal work or the work of another that deeply resonated with them. For two hours, the very same academics I had seen during the conference went on stage to participate, talking freely and profoundly about their vulvas, periods, and experiences with menopause. I even shared a post from my own blog, something I never would have felt comfortable doing in a different setting. After presenting a work, every individual was awarded a “tamposy,” or a flower made from a deconstructed and died tampon. It was campy and ridiculous, and I loved every second.

Yet the communal, fun, and goofy atmosphere didn’t just make for a great night and a perfect end to a conference, it gave me the motivation to continue both my academic and my activist or educational work, and to deepen its extent and reach. In fact, the conference provided an enormous amount of affirmation and reassurance, confirming that I am pursuing and studying exactly what I want to do with the rest of my life. As I approach my impending senior thesis, which, of course, will be about menstruation, this motivation couldn’t come at a better time. Without the SHIP grant funding my conference registration and traveling fees, I could never have been able to experience this.

Kenzie Helmick Attends the Biennial Conference of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research in Colorado Springs, CO (June 6-8, 2019) Blog 1

Posted on September 6, 2019 by admin

Dr. McLaren and I first discovered the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research’s biennial conference while we were in India conducting our research on menstrual hygiene management through Rollins’ student-faculty collaborative program. Like probably most people who first encounter the conference, or the society hosting it, our first reaction was one of disbelief: we couldn’t believe that such an institution and gathering existed. Our second reaction was one of complete excitement and awe at the serendipitous coincidence of discovering the upcoming, niche conference while we were still in the midst of our project. Our research, which we had spent nearly the last year designing, preparing and conducting, was centered on the state of the menstrual health and menstrual hygiene management movement in India and how local, grassroots organizations navigate dominant approaches and ideas to find what works best for them. The theme of SMCR’s 2019 conference? Traversing the Ridge: Connecting Menstrual Research and Advocacy. As soon as we returned from our travels, we submitted our abstract to the conference and were accepted to present our paper.

For me, my excitement was two-fold. Of course, I was ecstatic about the opportunity to present, for the first time, my work at an academic conference. Yet I was most looking forward to being surrounded by fellow menstrual activists, researchers, psychologists, and health professionals, all of whom, across their interdisciplinary fields, were engaging in exciting, innovating, and feminist work. As someone who has been fascinated by and involved in menstrual issues such as sustainable menstrual products, access and education, and the negative perception of menstruating bodies, I was excited to meet and learn from these individuals, many of whom were authors whose names I recognized and whose work had shaped my own thinking. I think the individual conversations and interactions with these scholars and organizers were some of the most impactful moments from SMCR’s conference, as these discussions exposed me to distinct ways to approach or think about menstruation and introduced me to new issues and written pieces that I cannot wait to delve into in my future work.